Thursday, July 21, 2011

Polaris was, once again, a very good time. I sold more books than I'd expected, and got brief hellos with many friends. I also did all that I could to get the word out about The Cupid War. Good for me, I say!

I spoke on six panels, two of which were fandom related (Doctor Who and Reboot), two were writing related (discussing character development, and the different types of fantasy), and two were topics of interest (the Young Adult market, and fictional afterlives). I felt a little out of my depth on the character panel, and I learned why I tend to feel that way when I'm on a panel with other professionals - they are so much better at verbally articulating what they do. I need to get better at that.

Thanks to my lovely wife, Violet, who came to help me run my table, I was able to do more con-related activities than I otherwise might have done. One such activity was the launch of When The Hero Comes Home, an anthology of stories on the topic of what happens next to a story's hero when the big event is over. Three authors whom I know and respect had stories in the book (Marie Bilodeau, J. M. Frey and Erik Buchanan), so I had to buy a copy. Plus there was free food. And a drink called a mamosa. It was nice. I had two of them.

The event was fun but exhausting. I'm afraid I may have babbled a bit with a couple of my readers, and appeared a bit manic to others. The excitement of the con versus anxiety about my panels, combined with general tiredness, may have made me appear a bit strange (well, stranger than usual) to some. Nevertheless, I still had an excellent time, and I look forward to next year.

Friday, July 15, 2011

This weekend is Polaris 25, the big sci-fi and fantasy con that for me is an annual event. Good times will be had, money will be spent, and hopefully lots of books will be sold. I will make a brief appearance tonight, then I'll get real busy tomorrow with four discussion panels. I have a panel on Doctor Who bright and early Saturday morning at 10, followed by a writing panel on creating memorable characters at noon. At 2 I have a panel on medieval fantasy and modern/urban fantasy, and at 5 I finally get to do a panel about writing for the Young Adult market!

On Sunday I have two panels: at 2 I will discuss fictional depictions of the afterlife, and at five I'll do a panel on Reboot, one of my favourite animated shows.

That's all my official stuff. I'm hoping I'll also be able to do some Geek-offs and maybe have a drink or several with friends. It will be a packed weekend, but it will be fun. It always is!